In the beginning of the eighties, on patients with severe immune
deficiencies a new virus was found by showing that most of these patients had antibodies
against this virus. Nowadays this virus is known in two types, called Human
Immunedeficiency Virus Type 1 and 2 (HIV-1 and HIV-2) of which the first type is more
common in the western world.

It belongs to a subgroup of the Retrovirus-Class, the Lentovirus-Group,
which lead only slowly to disease after infect their host, such causing a persisiting
infection which remains inactive for a long time. The symptomeless stage may take 10 Years
or more, which an aproximate maximum of 15 years after which most patients show symptoms
of mortal immune-deficiency.

The virus genom consists of RNA which is copied to a
complementary RNA-string by the enzyme Reverse Transcriptase. After the first
flu-like acute infection in which a high virustiter can be seen, the virus has killed and
infected many CD4-T-Cells and macrophages. The immunic reaction consists of antibodies,
CD-4-Helpercells and -inflammative cells, as well as of cytotoxic CD-8-Cells. After this
acute phase the blood is effectively frred from the virus with a few circulating
CD-4-Cells carrying one copy of the inactive genome of the virus.

Although the peripheral blood contains no viruses during the inactive
phase, the virus reproduces itself actively in the lymphatic tissue, brain, and some other
regions. this chronic infection gradually destroys the CD-4-T-Cells I

n a not yet completely explained way. After almost all CD-4-T-Cells are
destroyed, i.e. if their count is below 200 per µl, the imunedeficiency stage is
reached, and the syndrome is called AIDS. Gradually lymphatic folliculary dendritic cells
are damaged leading to a loss of lymphatic follicles and thereafter a complete destruction
of the lymphatic tissue. A similar process destroys the thymusstroma.

If a new acute infection with HIV-1 or HIV-2 is suspected or early
enough detected, several antivirus herbs from Chinese Medicine can be prescribed to secure
a low infection rate. Since the toxicity of some is very low, they can be used even as a
preventive measure in order to keep the virus from spreading. One promising candidate
among them is "zi hua di ding" or viola yedoensis ( Pls. refer to the
following table ).

***LD50 is given dependent on the herb produced in China; in some countries this herb
is very toxic (Geissman, 1964).

There are 20 herbs listed in Table 1. The antiviral spectrum and toxicities of each
herb are given. Thirteen of them have inhibitory effects on the HIV. Some others have
antivirus effects on other viruses. The HIV-Virus ability to avoid immunity response
has much in common with some of these viruses:

The permanent and latent infection is also seen in the Eppstein-Barr-Virus and the
Herpes Simplex Virus; the antigene variation by mutations can be found as well in
Trypanosomes, the influenza virus and some Streptococcus kinds. The induction of an
immune-supression shares the HIV-Virus with some Staphylococcus kinds and the
Mycobacterium leprae.

From an allopathic view, it may not be proper to list these herbs until they have been
tested in vivo against the HIV virus; however, from a TCM view, if certain herbs have been
proven effective against a certain virus in clinical trials, the same mechanism may work
against another virus in the human body. TCM holds that any herb or drug taken into the
body must first affect the body's metabolism so that it can more effectively fight the
pathogen. Although the concept of an antivirus is an allopathic approach, TCM's principle
of treating febrile infectious diseases (qing re jie du,
heat-clearing-and-toxin-eliminating) with herbal remedies can give this approach a new
meaning.

The toxicity of these herbs is very low, so they can be used safely for a long period,
even over a lifetime, by HIV-infected persons or, as mentioned before as a preventive
measure.

The 13 herbs which showed inhibitory effects on HIV in vitro may also
contribute to the treatment of various complications of AIDS. These patients are known to
be subject of opportunistic infections and some kinds of cancer. Those are caused by
organisms which usually can be controlled easily by the immune system, like Pneumocystis
carinii causing pneumonia, as well as e.g. Toxoplasma, the Cytomegaly virusand some
Mycobacteria like M. tuberculosis and even some normally harmless kinds like M. avium. The
functioning of the cellular defese is necessary for an effective control of these
microorganisms. Some patients (about 20%) is also affected by organisms, which are usually
controlled by the humoral defense system like Haemophilus influenzae.

Therefore most important are probably those herbs which stimulate the
growth of the T-lymphocytes as listed below:

Common Name

asparagus (root)

atractylodes, white (rhizome)

coix (seed)

coriolus (sclerotium)

epimedium (leaves)

ganoderma (whole)

lentinus (whole)

ligustrum (fruit)

ginseng (root)

phaseolus, white (bean)

huang-jing (rhizome)

Besides AIDS-Patients are liable to develope tumors like the
Karposi-Syndrome, a usually slowly developing proliferation of bloodvessel cells, and to
tumors of the B-Cells, the non-Hodgekin-Lymphomes and such of the brain. This might be
explainable by a lacking T-Cell response against tumor cells or a chronic stimulation of
the B-cells, another feature of HIV-infections.

Since many herbs in Chinese Medicine have been proven to stimulate the
immune system or some parts of it, these herbs can also be used in any stage of the HIV
infection, i.e. when an opportunistic infection occurs or generally to stimulate the
immune system. Pls. refer to list 2 below:

Chinese medical herbs affecting the immune system (list 2)

Promoting Lymphoblast Transformation

Botanical Name

Angilica sinensis, acutiloba

Astragalus membranaceus

Atractylodes macrocephala

Codonopsis pilosula

Coix lachryma-jobi

Coriolus versicolor

Epimedium grandiflorum

Ganoderma lucidum

Gelatin equi asini

Ligustrum lucidum

Panax ginseng

Phaseolus vulgaris

Polygonatum sibiricum

Polygonum multiflorum

Increasing the Number of White Blood Cells

Botanical Name

Acanthopanax senticosus

Astragalus membranaceus

Cinnamomum cassia

Codonopsis pilosula

Comus officinalis

Ganoderma lucidum

Gelatin Equi asini

Ligustrum lucidum

Millettia dielsiana

Panax ginseng

Phaseolus vulgaris

Placenta Homines sapientis

Psoralea corylifolia

Increasing Phagocytosis of Neutrophilic
WBC

Botanical Name
Common Name

Astragalus membranaceus
huangqi (root)

Atractylodes macrocephala
atractylodes,white

Dioscorea opposita
dioscorea (root)

Glycyrrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Panax ginseng
ginseng (root)

Increasing the Number of Mononucleic
Macrophages

Botanical NameCommon Name

Coriolus versicolor coriolus (sclerotium)

Glycyrrhiza uralensis licorice (root)

Lentinus edodes
lentinus (hole)

Promoting Phagocytosis of
Mononucleic Macrophages

Botanical NameCommon Name

Acanthopanax senticosus ginseng, Siberian (root)

Angilica sinensis, acutiloba tang-kuei(root)

Astragalus membranaceus huangqi (root)

Atractylodes macrocephala atractylodes, white (rhizome)

Codonopsis pilosula
codonopsis (root)

Epimedium grandiflorum epimedium (leaf)

Eucommia ulmoides
eucommia (bark)

Ganoderma lucidum
ganoderma,
lingzhi (whole)

Lentinus edodes
lentinus (whole)

Panax ginseng
ginseng (root)

Polyporus umbellatus
polyporus (sclerotium)

Psoralea corylifolia
psoralea (seed)

Rehmannia glutinosa
rehmannia (root)

II. Herbs Affecting Non-Specific Humoral Immunities

Inducing the Production of Interferon

Botanical Name
Common Name

Astragalus membranaceus astragalus (root)

Phaseolus vulgaris (PHA) phaseolus, white (bean)

(Astragalus can also promote the production of interferon by viral
stimulations.)

Anti-Complementary Activities

Botanical NameCommon
Name

Cinnamon cassia cinnamon (twigs)

Lentinus edodes lentinus (whole)

(These herbs have triggering effects on the C3 complementary.)

III. Herbs Affecting Specific Humoral
Immunities

Those Promoting Hypertrophy of Antigen-Combining Cells in Mice Spleens
at the Early Stage of the Immuno-Reaction

Botanical NameCommon Name

Angilica sinensis tang-kuei(root)

Astragalus membranaceus astragalus (root)

Coix lachryma-jobi coix (seed)

Comus officinalis
cornus (fruit)

Those Promoting Hypertrophy of Antibody-Producing Cells

Botanical NameCommon Name

Asparagus cochinchinensis asparagus (root)

Coix lachryma-jobi
coix (seed)

Coriolus versicolor
coriolus
(sclerotium)

Epimedium grandiflorum epimedium (leaves)

Ganoderma lucidum ganoderma
(whole)

Ligustrum lucidum
ligustrum (fruit)

Ophiopogon japonica ophiopogon (root)

Polygonatum sibiricum huang-jing (rhizome)

Polyporus umbellatus polyporus (sclerotium)

Psoralea corylifolia
psoralea (seed)

Those Suppressing Hypertrophy of
Antibody-Producing Cells

Botanical Name
Common Name

Glycyrrhiza uralensis

licorice (root)

Those Regulating Hypertrophy of
Antibody-Producing Cells

Botanical Name
Common Name

Astragalus membranaceus astragalus (root)

Those Increasing Antibody Production

Botanical Name
Common Name

Astragalus membranaceus huangqi(root)

Coriolus versicolor
coriolus (sclerotium)

Epimedium grandiflorum epimedium (leaves)

Lentinus edodes
lentinus (whole)

Panaxginseng
ginseng (root)

Placenta hominis sapientis placenta, human

Polygonum multiflorum
he-shou-wu(whole)

Rehmannia glutinosa
rehmannia (root)

Those Suppressing Antibody Production

Botanical Name
Common Name

Angelica sinensis
tang-kuei(root)

Glycyrrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Psoralea corylifolia
psoralea
(seed)

Zizyphus jujuba
jujube (seed)

IV. Those Herbs Affecting the Production of Different Types of
Immunoglobulin (Ig)

Herbs Which Affect Immunoglobulin (Ig)

PromotiveSuppressive

IgG Lentinus edodes
Psoralea corylifolia

Astragalus membranaceus

IgA Placenta hominis
Psoralea corylifolia

(serum) Rehmannia glutinosa

IgA Astragalus membranaceus

(secretion) Ganoderma lucidum

Polygoni multiflori

Epimedium grandiflori

IgM Astragalus membranaceus Psoralea
corylifolia

Coriolus versicolor

IgE Astragalus membrananceus

Because of the disruption of the immune system, various allergic
reactions can be seen in AIDS and HIV(+) patients, most notably hay fever and allergic
sinusitis.

The following list contains herbs which can be used for different types
of allergic conditions:

List 3: Herbs affecting Allergic Reactions

Herbs affecting Type-I Allergic Reactions

Those Suppressing the Secretion of
Histamine

Botanical NameCommon
Name

Ganoderma lucidum ganoderma (sclerotium)

Those Providing Relief from Bronchial Spasms due to Histamine and
Acetylecholine

Botanical Name

Common Name

Coriolus versicolor
coriolus (sclerotium)

Ganoderma lucidum ganoderma (sclerotium)

Epimedium grandiflorum epimedium (leaves)

Placenta hominis sapientis placenta, human

Psoralea corylifolia
psoralea (seed)

Those Providing Relief of
Gastrointestinal Smooth-Muscle Spasms Caused by Histamine and Acetylecholine

Botanical Name Common

Name

Angelica sinensis
tang-kuei
(root)

Cinnamomi cortex
cinnamon (twigs)

Comus officinalis
cornus
(fruit)

Glycyrrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Those Which Suppress Allergic Shock or
Allergic Skin Reactions Caused by Foreign Proteins

Botanical Name
Common Name

Glycyrrhiza uralensis licorice (root)

Panax ginseng
ginseng (root)

Placenta hominis sapientis placenta, human

II. Those Affecting Type-II Allergic Reactions (Cytolytic)

Those Preventing ABO Hemolysis

Botanical Name
Common Name

Glycyrrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Those Increasing the Number of
Platelets

Botanical Name
Common Name

Glycyrrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Placenta hominis sapientis placenta, human

Rehmannia glutinosa rehmannia
(root)

Those Increasing the Number of Red Blood Cells

Botanical Name

Common Name

Acanthopanax senticosus ginseng, Siberian (root)

Codonopsis pilosula
codonopsis (root)

Equi asini
equine gelatine

Panax ginseng
ginseng (root)

(These herbs can also affect hemolysis.)

III. Those Affecting Type-III Allergic Reactions

Botanical Name
Common Name

Astragalus membranaceus astragalus (root)

Glyzyrhiza uralensis
licorice (root)

Rehmanniae radix
rehmannia(root)

IV. Those Affecting Type-IV Allergic Reaction (Delayed)

Botanical Name
Common Name

Angelica sinensis
tang-kuei(root)

Bombyx batryticatus
silkworm (whole)

Glycyrrhiza uralentsis
licorice (root)

As mentioned above some kinds of cancer can occur in HIV positive
patients. Since there are many herbs in TCM proven effective against various kinds of
cancer, only an excerpt can be listed here, since this would exceed this topic by far. So
finally in List 4 are listed only those herbs which may be effective against cancers
typical in AIDS patients, namely leukemia and lymphoma. Since some of these herbst are
toxic or cytistatic themselves, they should not be used before they are indicated.

List 4: Herbs for cancers in AIDS patients (late stage)

Botanical Name
Chinese Name

Polysticticum
yun zhi

Hedyotis diffusa
bai hua she she cao

Indigo naturalis
qing dai

Catharanthi rosei
chang chun hua

Lysimachiaiae Clethroidis zhen zhu cai

Botanical Name
Chinese Name

Camptothecae Acuminatae xi
shu

Sarcandra glabra
zhong jie feng

Curcuma aromatica/zedoaria e zhu

Brucea javanica
ya dan zi

Of these herbs the first on in the list, Polystipticum is one of the
most interesting herbs, since its toxicity is very low, while it is useful for leukemia,
lymphoma and liver cancer, by inhibiting the synthesis of the DNA and RNA of tumor cells.
Besides this it antagonizes the immunosuppression caused by cyclophosphamides and
cortisone, while increasing the amount of macrophages, promotes phagocytosis and enhances
the rates of blastogenesis and rosette forming, such being a promising agent for both
enhancing the immune system and suppressing tumor developement.

At the moment clinical western medicine has not yet found any solutions
exept medicaments like AZT, which inhibit the function of the reverse transcriptase and
therefore have a toxic effect on human cells as well. Some other proposals are searching
to find specific inhibitors of the viral protease or the developement of antibodies for
the virus surface or synthezising substances which ought to block the docking of gp120 to
the CD4. But they still are far from ready to be used in clinical practice.

Therefore Traditional Chinese Medicine might provide some useful
alternatives by combining herbs with western medicaments or even use them alone in
different stages of HIV-Positive patients and other types of immune deficiency syndromes.